Load holding device

ABSTRACT

This disclosure pertains to a load holding device which is quickly and easily adjustable to a plurality of positions. The load holding device consists basically of a guide rail, or track in which a slide member or carriage is adapted for movement to a plurality of locations. The guide is provided with slots, the sides of which form an abutment. The majority of the slide member is encompassed within the guide means but a portion may protrude outwardly to enable the user to manually move the slide member to the desired location. The slide member has an opening extending through it which is adapted to be aligned with the selected slot within the guide rail. When so aligned, a hook member (an Sshaped belt attaching device or merely a piece of rope) is passed through the selected slot and the opening to attach the hook member to the slide. The foregoing fixedly locks the slide member in the selected position since the hook member abuts against the sides of the slot in the guide rail to prohibit movement thereof. The guide member may be constructed of a flat channel-shaped member or may be of a tube-like construction. In both cases, a plurality of guide rails may be used and one may be telescoped within the other in curtain rod-like fashion so that the combination slide and hook member also fixes the relative positions of the respective guide rails.

United States Patent Bowers [54] LOAD HOLDING DEVICE [72] Inventor:Thomas S. Bowers, Lafayette, Calif.

[73] Assignee: A. L. Hansen Mfg. Co., Gurnee, ll].

[22] Filed: June 2, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 42,736

[52] U.S. Cl. ..248/361 R, 105/369 A [51] Int. Cl ..B65j l/22, B65d19/00 [58] Field of Search ..248/36l A, 361 R, 224, 244, 248/295, 269,298; 105/369 A, 368 T;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,980,848 11/1934 Cass..248/361 A X 1,047,315 12/1912 Shone ..292/148 X 2,205,273 6/1940 Radey..105/368 T 2,052,914 9/1936 Williams ..105l368 T 2,047,503 7/1936Wilson ..105/369 A X 2,688,504 9/1954 Parker ..248/298 X PrimaryExaminer-Chancellor E. Harris AttorneyWalter E. Pavlick [57] ABSTRACTThis disclosure pertains to a load holding device which 51 Oct. 17,1972

is quickly and easily adjustable to a plurality of positions. The loadholding device consists basically of a guide rail, or'track in which aslide member or carriage is adapted for movement to a plurality oflocations. The guide is provided with slots, the sides of which form anabutment. The majority of the slide member is encompassed within theguide means but a portion may protrude outwardly to enable the user tomanually move the slide member to the desired location. The slide memberhas an opening extending through it which isadapted to be aligned withthe selected slot within the guide rail. When so aligned, a hook member(an S-shaped belt attaching device or merely a piece of rope) is passedthrough the selected slot and the opening to attach the hook member tothe slide. The foregoing fixedly locks the slide member in the selectedposition since the hook member abuts against the sides of the slot inthe guide rail to prohibit movement thereof. The guide member may beconstructed of a flat channel-shaped member or may be of a tube-likeconstruction. In both cases, a plurality of guide rails may be used andone may be telescoped .within the other in curtain rod-like fashion sothat the combination slide and hook member also fixes the relativepositions of the respective guide rails 9 Claims, 8 Drawing FiguresPATENTEDUBI 11 m2 3,59 7

' sum 1 or 2 FIG. 2 FIG; 3

INVENTORV THOMAS sv BOWERS BY [I ATTORNEY PATENTEU mm 1 7 m2 SHEU 2 BF 2INVENTOR. THOMAS s. BOWERS BY W1 0i PM ATTORNEY BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The field of this invention is loadholding devices for vehicle, marine or air cargo and home use.

2. Description of Prior Art Many prior art devices have been utilized toaccomplish similar functions as this invention, however, such have beenexpensive to manufacture, difficult to maintain, and of not very durablecharacter. Furthermore, prior art devices have not been easilyadjustable nor subject to being positively fixed in the desiredlocation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention comprises an easy to manufactureload holding device with a minimum number of parts. The load holdingdevice comprises a guide means which may be attached in any desiredlocation and a slide positioning device movable along the guide means toany one of a plurality of desired positions. The guide means has aplurality of latching devices which take the form of spaced slots, thesides of which form abutments. The slidable positioning means has anattaching means (such as an opening extending through it) and may bepositioned in alignment with any one of the plurality of slots in theguide means. When positioned in the desired location a hook, rope orsimilar securing means is extended through the slot and through theopening in the slidable positioning device, and abuts against the sidesof the slot to prevent movement of the slidable positioning means. Thehook, rope or S-shaped belt retaining device may then be attached atanother location within the cargo carrying vehicle as desired.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a loadholding device embodying this invention showing a single-eyed carriageor slide assembled within the guide rail and a double-eyed carriage orslide in a position to be assembled within the guide rail;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of one of the carriages or positioning slidesshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the positioning slide shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the second embodiment of this invention whichis similar to the first embodiment but of tube-like construction; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 with anS-shaped attaching hook secured in place;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of this inventionwherein one of the guide rails is telescoped within the other andadapted to be held in place by the S-shaped hook member being insertedwithin the positioning slide which is in turn locked within both guiderails;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of this inventionwhich incorporates a single unit multieyed carriage or positioningslide;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of two different types of guide rails whichmay alternatively be used in certain of the previous embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment (FIGS. 1-3)Referring more particularly to the drawings, the invention consistsprimarily of three major parts, a longitudinally extending guide meansor rail indicated generally at 10, and a positioning means or slideindicated generally at 12, adapted to be movable along said guide meansand having attaching means 13 formed integral therewith, and a securingmeans which, as shown in FIG. 1, takes the form of an S-shaped hookmember 14.

In FIG. 1, the rail or guide means 10 is basically an elongatedchannel-shaped member with the legs thereof having lips 16 bent inwardlyat right angles to their respective legs. The lips 16 of opposite legsterminate short of each other so that an opening extends for the fulllength of the rail between the lips.

Spaced at intervals along the channel-shaped member are relievedportions or slots defined by abutment means 18 on the sides of eachslot. The slots extend at right angles to the length of thechannel-shaped guide means l0 and as shown in the drawings are of awidth approximately a third of the distance between the slots.

As shown in the drawings, the channel-shaped guide means 10 is providedon the base of the channel with spaced apart (three in this instance)countersunk apertures 20 which are adapted to receive screws to positionthe guide means 10 along a wall or in any other suitable position'wherethe load holding device is to be used.

Positioning means or slide 12 may be of several dif ferent types ofconfigurations but basically is of a length greater than the slotsdefined by the abutment means 18 so that when the slide is inserted fromone end into the channel-shaped guide means 10, it will remain withinthe guide means. The slide 12, as shown more clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3comprises a front and rear foot 21 and 23 joined by a raised centralbridge portion 22 which defines an attaching means or opening beneaththe same. The width of the slide 12 is greater than the distance betweenthe bent over lips 16 of the guide means 10 so as to be retained withinthe guide means.

When the positioning means or slide 12 is placed within the guide means10, the central raised portion 22 extends outwardly and protrudesslightly from between the bent over lips 16. Accordingly, it is a simplematter for the user of the load holding device to place his finger onthe raised central portion 22 and move the slide 12 longitudinallywithin the guide means 10 to the selected position aligning the openingin the slide 12 with a slot in the guide means.

When the slide is so positioned, the securing means (in this embodimentan S-shaped hook member 14) is adapted to cooperate with the attachingmeans and the latch means formed by the abutment 18 on the side of theslot in the guide means. To this end, the end of the S-shaped hookmember 14 is hooked into the bottom of the selected slot, through theopening beneath the 3 raised central portion 22 of the slide 12 andthrough the upper portion of the slot in the guide means 10. Thus, thelatching means formed by the abutments 18 prevents longitudinal movementof the end of the S- shaped securing means 14 which, by reason of itsextending through the opening in the raised central portion of the slide12, also prevents movement of the slide. Accordingly, the S-shapedsecuring member is hook member will engage the abutment means 30 whichdefines the slots in the tube. As explained previously, the other end ofthe hook shaped member 36 may then be attached to a belt, rope, chain orother load securing device.

. Third Embodiment (FIG. 6)

fixedly connected in the selected position along the guide means 10. Theother end of the S-shaped securing means is adapted for connection to arope, belt, chain or similar device which is used to hold cargo inplace.

As stated previously, the positioning means or slide 12 may be ofseveral different types of configurations. A second type of slide isshown at 24. The slide 24 is similar to slide 12 in that it has two flatportions which are joined together by a raised portion 25 which bridgesbetween the two flat portions and under which is formed an opening.However, in addition to the opening formed under the raised portion, asecond opening or aperture 26 is formed in an extension of the raisedbridge portion 25. It is now apparent that when the slide 24 ispositioned within the guide means and the first opening or eye beneaththe raised central portion 25 is aligned with the selected slot formedby the abutment means 18", and held in place by an S-shaped hook member14, a second S-shaped member 14 may be hooked within the second openingor eye 26 which then serves as an anchor for the second hook member andthe belt, rope or chain which may be attached to it. Second Embodiment(FIGSQ4-5) The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment withthe exception that the parts are of tubelike construction. Moreparticularly, a guide means or tube 28 is provided with a lengthsubstantially greater than the diameter thereof. The tube is providedwith slots defined by abutment means 30 spaced at intervals aiong thelength of the tube. intersecting the slots at right angles is a guideway which, accordingly, extends the full length of the tube.

V Disposed within the tube 28 is a positioning slide 32. The positioningslide 32 is a partial cylinder having a diameter slightly less than thediameter of the tube so as to be slidable within the tube while beingretained thereby. Attaching means 34 is provided by an aperture disposedin the raised central portion of slide 32. The attaching means 34extends outwardly from the tube 28 when the slide 32 is positionedtherein as best shown in FIG. 5. Thus, the user may place his finger onthe attaching means and position the slide 32 at the desired locationalong the length of the tube to align the openingin the attaching meanswith theselected slot in the tube.

Securing means is adapted to cooperate with the attaching means and thelatch formed by the abutment means 30 of the selected slot in the tubeto fixedlyposition the slide at the desired location. To this end, an S-shaped hook member 36'is rotated through the lower portion of the slotin the tube, through the opening in the attaching means 34 of thepositioning slide, and outwardly through the upper portion of the slotin the tube.

It is now apparent that thepositioning slide 32 may not move axiallywithin the tube 28 since the S-shaped or rail 10 is provided with apositioning means or slide 12 which has an attaching means 13 formedintegral therewith. Securing means in the form of an S-shaped hookmember 14 is adapted to be received in the opening of the attachingmeans and engage the abutment means 18 to prevent movement of thepositioning slide 12.-The raised central portion 22 of the positioningslide 12 extends outwardly between the lips 16 of the guide rail to beaccessible to the user. In addition to the foregoing, the thirdembodiment is provided with a second guide rail 38 of a constructionsimilar to the guide rail l0 but having dimensions slightly smaller sothat the second guide rail telescopes within the first guide rail incurtain rod-like fashion. Thus, the second guide rail is provided withslots defined by abutment means 40 and bent over lips 42 which terminateshort of each other to provide a guide way for the raisedcentral portion22 of the positioning slide 12.

As is apparent from FIG. 6, the positioning slide 12 is of a dimensionsuch that it may slide within the second guide rail 38 as well as thefirst guide rail 10. Thus, when the first and second guide rails aretelescoped to the desired over all length, the relative positions of theguide rails are fixed by the'S-shaped hook member 36 being hookedthrough the upper portion of the slots in both the first and secondguide rails, through the opening in the attaching means of thepositioning slide 12, and through the lower portion of the slots in thefirst and second guide rails. Attempted movement of the guide rails withrespect to each other causes the abutment means 40 and 18 to engage theS-shaped hook member 36 to prohibit the same.

Fourth Embodiment (FIGS. 7-8) This embodiment is similar to the firstembodiment with the exception of the positioning slide designatedgenerally at 44. While the first embodiment disclosed a single-eyedpositioning slide 12 and a double-eyed positioning slide '24, thepositioning slide 44 incorporates seven eyes. It is readily apparentthat the number of eyes or apertures in the positioning slide may varyas the needs of the load holding device dictate. The positioning slide44 is generally a T-shaped beam with the base of the T adapted to slidewithin the guide rail 10 and the stem extending outwardly between thelips 16. The stem of the T is provided with three apertures or openings46 adjacent the base of the T and, in this embodiment, spaced apart atintervals equal to the spacing of the slots in the guide rail 10.Accordingly, the S- shaped hook member 48 may be disposed in any one ofthe aligned slots and apertures or, if desired, a separate hook shapedmember 48may be disposed in each one. The other end of the stem isformed in wave like fashion so as to facilitate the hooking of theS-shaped member in the desired latching position. The stem of the Trhasa second set of apertures 50 (four in this instance) to which may beattached a rope, as shown at 52, or any other suitable load retainingdevice such as a chain, belt, etc.

With this embodiment it is apparent that a single positioning slidemaybe used as an anchor for a plurality of load securing devices ratherthan using a plurality of positioning slides 12 or 24.

FIG. 8 discloses alternative types of guide rails to illustrate theflexibility of construction while still being encompassed within thescope of the invention. More particularly, the guide rail 54 is formedsimilar to the guide rail 10 with the exception that the slots formed atright angles to the guide rail 10 are not cut all the way through. As isapparent in FIG. 8 notches 54 are formed in the upper and lower legs ofthe guide rail as well as the bent over lips but do not extend for thefull length of the bent over lips so that a continuous guide way isprovided in the guide rail.

The other portion of F 16. 8 discloses a guide rail having the upper legthereof constructed similar to that shown in the first embodiment andthe lower portion of the guide way constructed with notches 54. It isapparent that the additional material in the bent ,over lip strengthensthe guide rail and the notch-like slot provides a means by which anS-shaped hook member may be hooked on to the guide rail without thenecessity of a positioning slide if so desired.

While several embodiments have been shown and described, it is apparentthat there may be many changes in construction and operation withoutdeparting from the scope of this invention as defined by the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a load holding device the combination comprismg a. an elongatedguide means having 1. latch means disposed at various positions alongthe length of said guide means,

b. positioning means contained within and slidable along said guidemeans to a plurality of positions aligned with one of said latch means,

1. said positioning means having an attaching means carried thereby witha portion thereof generally obscure from use but which is accessiblewhen said positioning means is aligned with said latch means,

c. securing means separate from said positioning means and saidattaching means and having a portion thereof selectively positionableinto positive abutting engagement with said latch means when saidattaching means is accessible and being cooperatively secured to saidattaching means to be held in such position whereby said positioningmeans is fixed in the desired location along said elongated guide means.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein said elongated guidemeans comprises a channel-shaped member having bent-over lip portions onthe open part thereof and said positioning means comprises a flat memberslidable within said channel-shaped member and retained therein by saidbent-over portions.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said elongated (guide meanscomprises a tube having a guideway exten mg lengthwise thereof and saidpositioning means comprises a member having a curvature with a radiusslightly less than the radius of the tube whereby the positioning meansis adapted to slide within the tube while being retained thereby.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said latch means is formed by aplurality of relieved portions in said elongated guide means which areadapted to cooperate with said securing means and said attaching means.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said attaching means is formedintegral with the positioning means by means of an opening therethroughand said opening is adapted to be located adjacent a selected relievedportion of said latch means so that said securing means may bepositioned therein.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said latch means comprises aplurality of relieved portions ex tending at right angles to the lengthof said elongated guide means and said attaching means comprises anopening formed at right angles to the length of said positioning meanswhereby when said opening in said positioning means is aligned with therelieved portion of said elongated guide means said securing means maybe received in said opening in the positioning means and said relievedportion of said elongated guide means so that relative movement betweenthe positioning means and the elongated guide means cannot take place.

7. The combination of claim 1 wherein a second elongated guide means isprovided telescoped within said first elongated guide means and haslatch means disposed at various positions along the length thereofadapted to cooperate with said securing means and said attaching meansto fix the relative position of said first and second elongated guidemeans.

8. The combination of claim 2 wherein a portion of said attaching meansconstantly projects outwardly between the bent-over lip portions of saidchannel so as to be manually accessible for effecting location of saidpositioning means.

9. The combination of claim 3 wherein a portion of said attaching meansconstantly extends outwardly from said tubular member into said guidewayso as to be manually accessible for effecting location of saidpositioning means.

1. In a load holding device the combination comprising a. an elongatedguide means having
 1. latch means disposed at various positions alongthe length of said guide means, b. positioning means contained withinand slidable along said guide means to a plurality of positions alignedwith one of said latch means,
 1. said positioning means having anattaching means carried thereby with a portion thereof generally obscurefrom use but which is accessible when said positioning means is alignedwith said latch means, c. securing means separate from said positioningmeans and said attaching means and having a portion thereof selectivelypositionable into positive abutting engagement with said latch meanswhen said attaching means is accessible and being cooperatively securedto said attaching means to be held in such position whereby saidpositioning means is fixed in the desired location along said elongatedguide means.
 2. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein saidelongated guide means comprises a channel-shaped member having bent-overlip portions on the open part thereof and said positioning meanscomprises a flat member slidable within said channel-shaped member andretained therein by said bent-over portions.
 3. The combination of claim1 wherein said elongated guide means comprises a tube having a guidewayextending lengthwise thereof and said positioning means comprises amember having a curvature with a radius slightly less than the radius ofthe tube whereby the positioning means is adapted to slide within thetube while being retained thereby.
 4. The combination of claim 1 whereinsaid latch means is formed by a plurality of relieved portions in saidelongated guide means which are adapted to cooperate with said securingmeans and said attaching means.
 5. The combination of claim 4 whereinsaid attaching means is formed integral with the positioning means bymeans of an opening therethrough and said opening is adapted to belocated adjacent a selected relieved portion of said latch means so thatsaid securing means may be positioned therein.
 6. The combination ofclaim 1 wherein said latch means comprises a plurality of relievedportions extending at right angles to the length of said elongated guidemeans and said attaching means comprises an opening formed at rightangles to the length of said positioning means whereby when said openingin said positioning means is aligned with the relieved portion of saidelongated guide means said securing means may be received in saidopening in the positioning means and said relieved portion of saidelongated guide means so that relative movement between the positioningmeans and the elongated guide means cannot take place.
 7. Thecombination of claim 1 wherein a second elongated guide means isprovided telescoped within said first elongated guide means and haslatch means disposed at various positions along the length thereofadapted to cooperate with said securing means and said attaching meansto fix the relative position of said first and second elongated guidemeans.
 8. The combination of claim 2 wherein a portion of said attachingmeans constantly projects outwardly between the bent-over lip portionsof said channel so as to be manually accessible for effecting locationof said positioning means.
 9. The combination of claim 3 wherein aportion of said attaching meAns constantly extends outwardly from saidtubular member into said guideway so as to be manually accessible foreffecting location of said positioning means.